By Moataz al-Majbari
TRIPOLI
Forces loyal to former Libyan army chief Khalifa Haftar announced Friday that they had released nine Turkish nationals who had been held for two weeks in the eastern city of Benghazi.
"We released nine Turkish citizens apprehended two weeks ago near the site of clashes in Benghazi," Mohamed Hegazi, a spokesman for Haftar's forces, told Anadolu Agency.
"The nine Turks were handed over to the interim Libyan government [headed by Abdullah al-Thinni] as per instructions from the General Command of the Libyan National Army [Haftar's forces]," Hegazi said.
Investigations, he added, had revealed that the nine Turkish nationals "were not involved in anything."
According to Hegazi, the Libyan government is expected to hand the nine individuals over to Turkey or to the local UN mission.
He went on to assert that the pro-Haftar camp was no longer holding any Turkish nationals.
In a statement, the Libyan government confirmed that it had received the nine Turks, whom, it said, would be handed over to Turkey through the UN. Yet the release gave no date for the handover.
According to the release, the nine Turks were handed over to government officials in the interim government's headquarters in the eastern city of Al-Bayda' in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister al-Mahdi al-Labbad and other officials.
Libya has been dogged by political instability since the 2011 ouster and death of long-ruling strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
Ever since, rival militias have frequently locked horns, often bringing violence to the country's main cities, especially Tripoli and Benghazi. The central government, meanwhile, has appeared largely absent from the scene.
Earlier this year, Haftar declared war on Islamist militias based in eastern Libya, vowing to "purge" the country of "extremists."
The country's sharp political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each of which has its own institutions.
Two assemblies currently vie for legislative authority: a recently-elected House of Representatives based in Tobruk; and the General National Congress, which – even though its mandate ended in August – continues to convene in Tripoli.
The two parliaments support two rival governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
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